I’ve never started a thread before..

[westy]

The frustratng thing about this whole situation is that the vast majority feel Forster is worth an automatic extra year - his stats don't lie and when you get the sort of comments that Martin O'Neill said about him - he is a rare piece of quality in a team sadly lacking.

Yes he is getting on and yes - we don't know what div we will be in next season. However it doesn't take rocket science to negotiate some sort of dual offer which can reflect where we actually end up. Not perfect but at least it's an offer and one that he probably deserves.

However it seems the club wants to ignore the issue - set a precedent with El Abd and upset a senior pro - clever - not.

So someone somewhere in the club could have shown a better standard of man management and as the original post mentioned - us the paying punters should be getting to see our numero uno striker at a time when we need him most.

For those that say he isn't all that - look back at Walsall and Villa - not long ago was it - and without his superb first strike we would be 2 points worse off.

If this does backfire on the club and we are relegated through a lack of goals through missing him - I suspect a great number of people may view this incident as being an utter shambles by the club.

Exactly.

 

[drew]

I agree that no-one is guaranteed a contract. Of course we don't know, but as I said I suspect that El Abd is on quite a lot less than Forster, so is not likely to be the burden that Forsters wage's could be if we are in League 2. Don't follow your logic there. Are you saying that of all the players whose contracts are up in June El Abd was the lowest earner so it was fair to negotiate his contract and forget everyone elses.

"In terms of Forster playing, if he's in dispute with the club (which he clearly is), it's extremely doubtful that he's in the right mental state to go out on the pitch and represent the club, no matter how professional we may think he is."

There are hundreds of players that have continued to play for clubs they are in dispute with or not happy with. Look at Anderson at United for example. Most players are representing themselves and a poor performance reflects on them and therefore their marketability. I don't doubt for one minute that Forster would give his all if selected irrespective of his dispute with the club. It would be in his interest to prove the club needed him.


Based on what? Have you spoken to Forster? Do you know? I'm far more willing to accept Poyet's view, as someone who's worked with him, than any of us spouting bollocks on a messageboard.

Why do you accept Poyet's version rather than Forster's? If we are successful, Poyet will be gone to the first big club to entice him. He has been here a few months and has no connection with the club other than his current contract. Forster has been here two and half years and is relatively local (well Caterham is more local than Uruguay)



Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't pretty much all of the senior management at the club changed in that time? DK has gone, Perry has gone, the manager has changed (about 4 times!). I'm not sure Harding, Hammond et al are still a stick we can use to beat the club with.

It seems pretty clear that Forster wanted to stay. However, that does not give him the right to attempt to force the clubs hand (if that is what he did) into offering him a new contract, no matter how they have dealt with things with other employees. If someone at your work, in a different department, and a more junior role, was given a pay rise by the MD, would you be straight banging on the door demanding one as well?

I think you would wouldn't you. Most people would.

I'm not saying the board isn't at fault. It was extremely stupid to say that no contracts would be renegotiated until the summer and then renegotiate one.

I'm not quite sure when you expect contract negotiations with players to start? As far as I'm aware with Hammond they started in September/October, and it became clear by January that an impasse had been reached and he was sold. Was that not early enough?

What do you mean by f***ing around? Should they simply offer contracts, at the players terms, to everyone that wants one? Last January the board made a concerted effort to keep us in the division by spending an absolute fortune (by L1 standards) on new players and loanees, and it didn't do us one bit of good (at least until the very last minute).

I'd be genuinely interested to know when most League 1 teams do their contract negotiations. I suspect that at this level it is a lot more last minute than some people on here seem to think. In this case, I do not think that the timing of the activity is the problem, rather that one contract has been renewed earlier than suggested.

There is a difference between negotiating contracts with the deadwood in the squad as opposed to your top scorer!

For what it's worth I think the argument that he should wait until the end of the season when his contract ends fell when the club made the quite extra-ordinary decision to give el abd a contract ahead of the transfer deadline. That was crass in the extreme; ill considered; and disrespectful to the others out of contract IF (and it's a big if) we are not talking to them as well. as appears to be the case with Forster.

However, no matter what may be the background, Forster's response - whether deliberately or accidentally released direct to SSN - is unprofessional and should not be condoned.

The manager manages and must be allowed to do so as those who were so critical of Dick Knight would do well to remember. If he gets it wrong he knows the consequences and how quickly the axe may fall. It's not for us (or for that matter the club) to unduly tie his hands.Unfortunately, it is for us to comment. If it goes pearshaped then we are the ones watching league two football next year. Poyet will be off with a paid up contract.

That said I am sure there will be moves behind the scenes to smooth troubled waters and they will kiss and make up soon enough - or at least find an uneasy truce.............it's in all their interests to do so

As a supporter, I expect the club and players to have integrity. If the Club had not given El Abd his extension then my sympathy would be with the club but they have shot theirselves in the foot. It is simply bad management unless of course their aim is to get rid of Forster and save his wages.

 

[Icy Gull]

I . It is simply bad management unless of course their aim is to get rid of Forster and save his wages.

I'd like to think Poyet or Bloom would tell him that straight rather than take such a devious route.

 

[Brovion]

For what it's worth I think the argument that he should wait until the end of the season when his contract ends fell when the club made the quite extra-ordinary decision to give el abd a contract ahead of the transfer deadline. That was crass in the extreme; ill considered; and disrespectful to the others out of contract IF (and it's a big if) we are not talking to them as well. as appears to be the case with Forster.

However, no matter what may be the background, Forster's response - whether deliberately or accidentally released direct to SSN - is unprofessional and should not be condoned.

The manager manages and must be allowed to do so as those who were so critical of Dick Knight would do well to remember. If he gets it wrong he knows the consequences and how quickly the axe may fall. It's not for us (or for that matter the club) to unduly tie his hands.

That said I am sure there will be moves behind the scenes to smooth troubled waters and they will kiss and make up soon enough - or at least find an uneasy truce.............it's in all their interests to do so

I must admit that's pretty much my take on it as well. I think Forster's been a bit of a twat and he's gone down in my estimation, but I think the club could have least intimated whether they were minded to give him a new deal or not. The "we don't know which divison we'll be in" is a bit of a red herring; after all surely it's not beyond the intelligence of both the club and Forster to have negotiated round it by saying something like: "If we're in division 3 then we'll pay you X but if we're in div 4 then it'll be Y."